Monday, March 31, 2008

We literally spend hours sitting around, listening to 14-, 15-, 16-, 17- and 18-somethings chatter. We're in the business of advising high school newspaper and yearbook staffs. If the staff is in full-speed-ahead/deadline mode, we sit behind our desk, on the computer, waiting to put out the next fire. While we're waiting, we pretty much "disappear" into the background, as far as the students are concerned. High school teachers as wallpaper. With ears. And while we're waiting, we learn an awful lot of interesting stuff.

For example, today a big crowd gathered in front of one girl's computer screen. Lots of "Oohs" and "Ahs" and "Omigoshes" and "Wows." We knew something more than a recent Facebook post was up because of the number of boys in the crowd (those of you who know high school journalism know this is a chick biz--out of about 80 journalism kids on two staffs, we have eight or nine boys). Super Journalism Adviser to the Rescue! What's this we see?

They had googled a Web site from the local radio station (check out the "mom" photo gallery at http://www.hot995.com/cc-common/gallery/display.html?album_id=108437), which is running a contest and the kids were looking at all of the young, fresh and--did we say young? Too young!--bodacious moms (some of whom looked 16--we're moms, and don't know any moms who look like that!) who had entered a, shall we say, less-than-savory contest.

Another thing we learned today--appropos of almost nothing, but this is one of those tidbitswe pick up almost every day. A girl at another local high school took off her shirt and took pictures with her cellphone of her naked torso. The photo-text has made the rounds, and is now on computers in the library at Our Humble High School, among others. You get the picture. And on top of that (puns, puns, we love the puns!), at least one Cherub from our District is being charged with Internet pornography because of said photos.

The thing that stands out for me the most is the naked pic of the high school girl. This saddens me to no end. I feel like young people today have no real concept of the power of the Internet.

My teenaged niece is on Twitter and the things that she chooses to Tweet about and the photos she posts are appalling to me. Everyone is a dumb ass teenager once in their life, but why post it out there for the world to see, a record of their foolish ways captured for all eternity.

Sorry, I know that wasn't the whole idea behind your post, but it's just a pet peeve of mine.